Today the realization that UFC 130 has lost its extremely exciting and much anticipated main event has probably began to sunk in. No one would have thought that a third fight between UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and UFC No. 1 Lightweight Cont…
Today the realization that UFC 130 has lost its extremely exciting and much anticipated main event has probably began to sunk in. No one would have thought that a third fight between UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and UFC No. 1 Lightweight Contender Gray Maynard would spark so much interest.
Yet that is exactly what happened in the early hours of January 2, not too long after Edgar and Maynard put on a thrilling back and forth affair that encompassed the entire 25 minutes allotted to them for their main event matchup. Once the judges’ scorecards were read and a draw was determined, UFC President Dana White made the decision within an hour or two to have Maynard and Edgar square off one more time.
With Edgar-Maynard leading the way, the main card was shaping up pretty nicely. Rampage Jackson was set to face Thiago Silva, but Silva was suspended and Matt Hamill stepped up to face the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Two heavyweights with backgrounds in both Las Vegas and grappling will meet up as Roy Nelson fights former UFC heavyweight Champion Frank Mir.
And so on and so forth, the wheels keep spinning. With just under three weeks and having both Maynard & Edgar injured, the UFC was forced to scrap the fight altogether and bump the Hamill-Rampage fight to the main-event slot.
So that leaves me with the task of trying to drum up some serious interest in the remaining bouts on the main pay-per-view portion of the card. Let’s take a look at some highlight videos and try and get the blood flowing in anticipation of these fights.
Filed under: UFC, NewsInjuries have sidelined both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, forcing the cancellation of UFC 130’s main event fight, MMA Fighting has learned.
UFC president Dana White confirmed to MMA Fighting that both fighters are out.
Injuries have sidelined both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, forcing the cancellation of UFC 130‘s main event fight, MMA Fighting has learned.
UFC president Dana White confirmed to MMA Fighting that both fighters are out.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Edgar had the more serious injury of the two, suffering two broken ribs during training, while Maynard suffered a knee injury.
The judging system in MMA has been a perennial topic of hot debate. Whether it’s due to inexperience or a lack of monitors, fans and fighters are fed up with controversial decisions. What if extra rounds were added to every fight? Just think about it. …
The judging system in MMA has been a perennial topic of hot debate.
Whether it’s due to inexperience or a lack of monitors, fans and fighters are fed up with controversial decisions.
What if extra rounds were added to every fight?
Just think about it. What if the first championship bout between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua went five more rounds? How about an extra two rounds in the grudge fight between Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson? Machida versus Rampage?
UFC heavyweight contender Roy “Big Country” Nelson recently spoke to ESPN.com about the addition of three-minute rounds.
This would extend the rounds in every professional MMA bout to five, and championship bouts would be decided in 10 rounds.
“They want to add more championship rounds. That’s where I say switch everything to three minutes and go 10 rounds. Then you have a lot of ups and downs,” said Nelson.
The increase in momentum shifts would add to the general excitement for MMA fans. Also, fighters won’t have the luxury of eating time off the clock in an attempt to feel out an opponent. With three-minute rounds, it could encourage fighters to be more aggressive to avoid losing the shorter rounds.
“You’ll probably see a lot more action because you’re constantly trying to win the round,” Nelson said. “Guys wouldn’t be feeling out for two minutes. It’s boom, you’ve got to go right away.”
The ambiguity of MMA judging has definitely raised eyebrows over the years. A last-minute takedown could be the difference between winning and losing, even if you’ve edged out the majority of a round.
“I’d say judges lose sight. One guy will dominate for four minutes, the other guy dominates for a minute, and they give the round to the second guy,” said Nelson.
“I’ve watched fights where I actually take a stopwatch and say, ‘No, he won four minutes of that round, but the judges gave it to the other guy.’ They just remember that last minute. Three minutes is short enough that the whole round stays in your head.”
A controversial fight that many point to, including Nelson, is the UFC 123 light heavyweight tilt involving Machida and Jackson. The judges awarded the split decision to Jackson, who edged out the first couple of rounds. There wasn’t much action in the bout until Machida pounced on an opening in the final round and stunned Jackson with a combination of punches.
“Split that up and Machida wins, hands down,” stated Nelson. “The first two rounds could have been 10-10, because nothing happened. Then Machida dominated late.”
While intriguing, the sport could be a long way away from this kind of adjustment, but the chances of such a major change happening isn’t unrealistic. Even Keith Keizer, who is the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, sees logic in Nelson’s proposal.
“Three-minute rounds is less stuff to judge,” said Kizer. “It’s easier to run a mile than a marathon. Five minutes is a long time, and it does make judging difficult.”
UFC 130 is less than three weeks away and it’s shaping up to be an excellent card. Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard are set to meet for a third time after their last fight ended in a controversial draw. Fan Favorites Quinton Rampage Jackson and Matt Hami…
UFC 130 is less than three weeks away and it’s shaping up to be an excellent card. Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard are set to meet for a third time after their last fight ended in a controversial draw. Fan Favorites Quinton Rampage Jackson and Matt Hamill will square off. And in the heavyweight division Roy Nelson and Frank Mir will battle it out, both trying to make their way to the top of the heavyweight ladder.
This is an important fight for both fighters because they need the win to stay relevant. Both have come up short against the elite of the heavyweight division (Mir against Lesnar and Carwin, Nelson against Dos Santos) and a loss here could drop them to gatekeeper status.
Many fight fans have been flummoxed trying to pick a winner in this fight, given that the two men have such similar skill sets. Let’s take a look at each element of this fight individually and see if either fighter can be given a discernible advantage, overall.
UFC 130 lost its main event earlier today when it was announced that both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard had sustained injuries. MMA Junkie is reporting that the pair will both be out for six to eight weeks and the match could be re-booked for either a…
UFC 130 lost its main event earlier today when it was announced that both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard had sustained injuries. MMA Junkie is reporting that the pair will both be out for six to eight weeks and the match could be re-booked for either an August for September fight card.
Jeremy Botter at Heavy.com added an interesting twist to the storyline when he reported that the UFC asked Anthony Pettis if he would be interested in accepting the bout with Maynard. He eagerly agreed only to lose out on the opportunity when Maynard himself sustained an injury.
Pettis will remain in his originally scheduled fight opposite Clay Guida—that fight is serving as the main event for the TUF 13 Finale show which is set to take place June 4.
That leaves UFC 130 without a proper headliner thus forcing the UFC to promote the “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill fight to lead billing while Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson will serve as the co-main.
While Edgar vs. Maynard III does not carry with the same PPV gravitas of a Brock Lesnar anchored card, their come-to-blows match was much anticipated following their epic clash at UFC 125. It anchored what many were branding a very “stacked” fight card.
Beyond Rampage vs. Hamill and Mir vs. Nelson, it featured intriguing bouts like maturing heavyweight Stefan Struve taking on Travis Browne, the UFC return of Jorge Santiago vs. All-American Brian Stann and welterweight stud Thiago Alves vs. a very game challenger in Rick Story.
It is amazing what the loss of one fight, all be it the main event, can do to the dynamic of a card.
Will people still shell out their hard-earned dollars to see UFC 130 in its revamped form? How will Rampage vs. Hamill sit with fans that aren’t already committed to buying every event?
The last time Rampage headlined a fight card—when it didn’t involved Rashad Evans—was at UFC 123 when he took on Lyoto Machida. That card was anchored with B.J. Penn vs. Matt Hughes III and did a respectable 600K PPV buys.
Before that, it was UFC 96 when Rampage picked up a decision win over Keith Jardine and Shane Carwin waxed Gabriel Gonzaga. That fight card brought in a meager 350K PPV buys. It is imperative that the UFC starts hyping up the laurels of Rampage, along with the dueling heavyweights, although Rampage hasn’t always been reliable to properly market a fight.
Mir vs. Nelson is a fairly compelling co-main event (for namesake alone) even though there are no immediate implications to the heavyweight title picture. Mir was involved in one of the worst performing PPVs of all time when he took in Mirko “Cro Cop” at UFC 119, but overall Mir is a solid draw.
While UFC 130 will likely not do great numbers at the box office, don’t sleep on this event. Some of the best events are the ones that people end up passing on.
Let’s just hope that the UFC can get Rampage, Mir and Nelson out in full force and talking up the value of this event because they have some of the best mouths the sport has to offer.
Frank Mir and Roy Nelson enter the Octagon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on much different career paths. Mir has had his ups and downs in his career and now looks to get back into title contention with a win over the Ultimate Fighter season …
Frank Mir and Roy Nelson enter the Octagon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on much different career paths. Mir has had his ups and downs in his career and now looks to get back into title contention with a win over the Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner. Nelson is on his way up and looks to rebound from his loss to Junior Dos Santos—his first loss in the UFC.
Mir wants to reclaim the heavyweight title very badly and Nelson is hungry for a win after coming off a loss. At the present, each man is completing their final weeks of training before they clash at UFC 130 on May 28, 2011. I will present five reasons that Mir will emerge victorious.
Injuries have sidelined both 